Journal 2/28/1975
P9 Boat reefed A Korean fishing boat reefed near Majuro airport earlier this month and apparently will be a permanent fixture. While rumors abound on the reason for the accident, the most persistent one seems to be that the captain mis-took the airport lights for the pass entrance. There were over 20 tons of fish on board the ship. This is just another unneeded example of how rich the ocean is here in Micronesia. Why can’t we exploit these riches ourselves?
P11 The Laurabada Editor’s note: The author of this poem was aboard the Laurabada at the time of its sinking in Truk. The Laurabada was owned by Congress of Micronesia Representative Ray Setik. Goldberg’s account of the sinking was depressing, one gets the feeling that it could have been averted. His reporting that a cash box containing $15,000 was lost during a clumsy launching of a life boat startles the imagination.
Ode to the Laurabada
It’s not the size
or the shape
of the ship
that makes men sea sick.
But it’s the locomotion
of the motion
in the ocean
that makes you
go down to the
bottom.
—Lawrence Goldberg
Journal 2/28/1992
P3 Hilda Heine-Jetnil moves to Education The Ministry of Education has a new secretary – Hilda Heine-Jetnil. She began her new post Monday. Education Minister Phillip Muller cited her as a highly capable administrator. Until Monday she was president of the College of the Marshall Islands.
P4 What a complaint We’ve heard about complaints when electricity goes off, but when it comes on? Last Thursday’s planned all day power outage ran so smoothly that the electricity came back on at 1:30pm, three and a half hours early. MEC staff were startled to get phone calls from people demanding to know why the power was back on early when MEC had said it would not come on until 5pm. Billy Roberts said they had three or four calls complaining about this, apparently from small store owners who may have sent their employees home for the day when they heard the outage would run to 5pm. You can’t win on Majuro.
P10 Auditor General: RMI government should not give money to local councils The Auditor General’s latest report to Nitijela urges the government to stop giving money to local governments, except Kwajalein and Majuro, because the financial record keeping and accounting is so poor. The Auditor General said that over the past eight years, auditors have issued 39 reports on local governments but — with the exception of Majuro and Kwajalein — found it necessary “to qualify or not issue opinions for all other local governments due to their failure to maintain adequate accounting records.”
P12 Giving youth a second shot Giving youth a second chance is what Youth Options is all about. Youth Options Manager Frank Mojilong said the program started small in 1983 but now enrolls about 120 young people a year in a program that combines academic and athletic training.
Journal 2/28/2003
P7 Westerly leaves wreck in its wake At midnight Friday the wind in Majuro suddenly clocked around to the west, creating a night of havoc for visiting yachts moored off Uliga and a number of local boats. The ketch Long Reach II snapped its mooring, forcing the skipper to motor in circles around the lagoon throughout the night. Charlie Domnick’s boat Miss Tamioko and Lazarus Andrike’s boat Kylynn both dragged and ended up on the beach. Just before dawn, disaster struck for Judge Dee Johnson’s boat Dhyana. “Dee’s boat’s broke its mooring and is on the rocks,” cam the radio message. A little later the news worsened: “She sunk.” The judge missed the night of drama: he is currently on vacation in Texas.
P11 Kwajalein deal: Lollipop covered with dust All Ralik Chain Iroijs have shown their strong opposition against the Compact Military Use and Operating Rights Agreement extension. If the deal is not 100 percent perfect, why then do we have to accept it? It’s like a sweet lollipop covered with dust. —Jeban Riklon